Tuesday, February 08, 2005
obligatory work gripe/brag
I don't think any of my friends has a clue how I earn my teensy paycheck. admit it! it's very tedious and quite exhausting for the eyes. a grad student, an undergrad and I watch 20 minute samples of video taken in preschools around the country. using a coding system I developed, we code every social behavior that occurs in said footage. then, I compare my codes with my co-workers' and calculate reliability data. isn't that fascinating? the samples are collected in classrooms where a new academic and social skills curriculum will be applied. it's important work that will improve the lives of preschool-aged children, especially those who are at-risk of academic and behavioral problems due to poverty or disability. why, then, does it have to be so damn boring??
the job's single redeeming grace, besides helping poor kids and all that, is watching the hilarious things the kids do. I don't want to sound like Bill Cosby, but they say and do some entertaining stuff. my favorite is a kid who appears to have Downs Syndrome. he's tormented by another student, who steals his toys and says mean things. finally, after 20 minutes of bullying, our champion sneaks up behind his harasser and whacks him on the back of the head with a book. the teacher, when she finally comes to investigate the crying peer, can't figure out what happened, so the hero escapes unpunished!
the job's single redeeming grace, besides helping poor kids and all that, is watching the hilarious things the kids do. I don't want to sound like Bill Cosby, but they say and do some entertaining stuff. my favorite is a kid who appears to have Downs Syndrome. he's tormented by another student, who steals his toys and says mean things. finally, after 20 minutes of bullying, our champion sneaks up behind his harasser and whacks him on the back of the head with a book. the teacher, when she finally comes to investigate the crying peer, can't figure out what happened, so the hero escapes unpunished!
